Digital Love
by cootiegirl
Summary: Maka and Soul agree that online dating is completely ridiculous. But when both of them secretly try it out and get matched with each other, they're in for a night that neither of them signed up for.
1. Part One

A/N: Part one of this three-shot is in italics because it takes place before any of the actual date stuff happens. So let's take a blast into the past. [wind chime noises]

P.S. I swear this isn't based off of Daft Punk lyrics.

* * *

_Right from the start, Soul had a bad feeling about this._

_ Liz Thompson had a boyfriend. _

_Tsubaki and Maka squealed in unison; Patti was making a boat out of her napkin but it was likely she had already heard the news; Kid slouched in his chair and muttered something under his breath; and Black Star and Soul patted her on the back awkwardly, unsure of what to say. _

_"What's he like?" Maka asked, wide-eyed and curious as always. _

_"Smart. And hot. And so romantic. On our last date, he bought me a bouquet of red roses." _

_"Sounds like a real Prince Charming. Where'd you find this guy?" Maka gave Soul a look that meant instant death but Liz just let out an uncharacteristically high-pitched giggle. _

_"You won't believe this, but it was actually one of those dating websites." _

_"Like ChristianMingle? Or OkCupid?" _

_"Soul, shut up! Liz, I think it's great that that worked out for you. What's his name?" _

_"FarmersOnly?" Soul added helpfully. Maka punched him in the stomach so hard that he curled into a ball._

_ "Danny," Liz said. "I think I really like this guy, too."_

_ Soul made a wheezing sound like a ninety-year-old man having an asthma attack. _

_Tsubaki sighed dreamily. "That's so wonderful." _

_"If he tries anything funny with you, he'll have to answer to me!" Black Star jumped out of his chair and swallowed his gargantuan mouthful of ice cream. Most people would have choked on it or cried out because of the brain freeze, but as the one who surpasses God, he just brushed it off and proceeded to do ten reps of jumping jacks. _

_"We're going to a movie tomorrow," Liz said loudly over Soul's whimpering and the rattling table, which was courtesy of Black Star. "You guys can come, if you want. Check him out for yourself."_

_ "Oh, that sounds like fun, but Black Star and I have a remedial lesson tomorrow…" Tsubaki looked genuinely unhappy._

_ "Soul has an appointment with Stein," Maka said. "For some check-up. I think he just wants to get something looked at." _

_"It's probably his dick," Black Star said, shovelling more ice cream into his mouth. "It's so small, he needs a magnifying glass to see it." He swallowed. "Sorry, man, but I don't think they can do anything about that." _

_"THAT'S IT," Soul snarled, launching himself at the offending assassin. He tried to tackle him but tripped over his own feet, falling flat on his face. _

_Patti dissolved into giggles. _

_"Anyway, he wants me to go with him, the big baby. Sorry, Liz." _

_"No problem. This way I get some alone time with my man." _

_"In a movie theater?" Kid, who had been silent this whole time, finally spoke. "There has to be at least twenty other people." _

_She shrugged. "We'll sit in the back."_

* * *

_"Thanks for coming!" Maka waved goodbye to their guests. "Have a great time tomorrow! Be sure to tell us all about it." _

_Liz grinned. "Gotcha. Come on, Patti."_

_ "Bye!" She followed her out the door. _

_"I told her. I told her so many times," Kid said as soon as the sisters were out of earshot. "But no, it was all 'Danny's perfect', 'Danny's so nice and considerate', 'Danny bought me an entire cake made out of gold and party streamers and unicorns'. He could be anyone! Dating websites are nothing more than a bunch of creepy old men trying to take advantage of sweet girls like Liz." _

_"Kid-" _

_"I just don't want her getting hurt." He gave a sigh, and suddenly he looked much more tired than usual. "She may act tough, but on the inside she's just as scared and vulnerable as the rest of us. She's been through a lot. I want to make sure whoever she's with takes care of her."_

_ "I know you worry about her, Kid. I promise I'll do my best to check on her tomorrow, okay?"_

_ "Thank you. And thank you for the food. It was well-made, as usual." _

_"Tsubaki cooked, actually. But you're welcome. I'll give you the report on Liz later."_

_Black Star belched loudly and clapped Soul on the back. "See you." _

_Tsubaki was in the middle of saying goodbye to Maka when he yelled, "ONWARD, TSUBAKI! LET'S GO HOME!" _

_"I was just about to leave, Black Star. You don't have to shout." _

_"Oh. I know. I just wanted to make sure that you were ready." He touched her arm, then pulled back, clearing his throat."Okay! We're off!"_

* * *

_"He was sure acting weird," Maka remarked as she cleared the dishes from the table. _

_"When does he ever not?" Soul licked a spoon clean of cookie dough and plopped it into the sink. _

_Maka frowned. "What's this?" She picked up a scrap of paper that was under Liz's plate. "Oh, it's some website name." _

_"God. Is that where she met Fanny or whatever?" _

_"Danny. Yeah, I guess." _

_Under the name, she had written "find some hotties for you and that dorky partner of yours ;)". Maka wasn't sure who the note was addressed to, but she didn't really want to find out. "You want this?"_

_ Soul snorted. "Do you think I would use something like that? I can get a girl without that stupid thing." _

_"Wanna bet?" Maka stacked the ice cream bowls into the sink and crossed her arms. "Twenty bucks says you can't get a date by the end of tomorrow night."_

_ "I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow," he protested. "That isn't fair."_

_ "Have someone else check on your genitals," she said lightly, walking back to the table. _

_"IT ISN'T MY- never mind."_

_ Liz's note stayed at the bottom of the garbage can for exactly four hours. Maka snuck out of her bedroom, avoiding the squeaky spots on the floor, and fished around for the paper. " DigitalLove," she repeated to herself silently. So immersed in chanting her mantra, she didn't notice the creak of the floorboards beneath her and cringed. The last thing she needed was for Mr. Cool himself to come in and catch her red-handed. _

_Little did she know, he came in not even ten minutes after she went back to bed to "check" that the note had been properly thrown away. Of course, he had to write down the web address on the inside of his wrist in Sharpie just in case he forgot._

* * *

_Soul's appointment with Stein turned out to be a routine check-up for his old chest wound. The professor just wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly and that the black blood wasn't doing anything weirder than usual. Maka was going to wait outside, but Soul looked either nervous, sick to his stomach, or both, so she stayed with him. Later he told her that as much as he respected Stein, he didn't really trust him when it was just them two in a room with sharp surgeon tools laying around like toys on a playground. In a way, an operating table was like a playground to the professor. And that was kind of a terrifying thought. _

_Soul was fine. As soon as they finished up, Maka said she had to go check on Liz, so her partner headed to Black Star's place. He wasn't there, but Soul used the extra key hidden under the doormat to let himself in. This way, Maka couldn't see him make an account for on his buddy's computer. _

_But Soul didn't know that after she made sure Liz was okay and told Kid of what she found (actually, Liz was more than okay since she was shoving her tongue down her boyfriend's throat and her hand down his pants), she went to the library's computer lab to sign up for a certain dating website as well._

_ She could feel the other library-goers giving her the stinkeye, and she was sweating a little because she realized how much of an idiot she would look like if one of her friends walked through that door and saw her right then. _

_The first question: Your name. _

_She didn't know why, but putting down Maka Albarn seemed like a bad idea. A lot of people knew who she was in Death City, and she would get messages from people like Hiro if her name came up on a website for love-starved teens and unfortunately, older people as well. Maka felt bad for lying on what was supposed to be a "one hundred percent honest" application, but she just felt too shy to use her real name and racked her brain for an alias. The first thing that popped into her head was Lucy, so she typed it in the little box and moved on. _

_Gender? Female._

_ Looking for? Male. _

_Age? 17. _

_Desired Age Group? I don't know, teenager? What does that even mean? _

_The next set of questions were just for fun, she supposed, but why it would matter if someone preferred cats over dogs and vanilla over chocolate? Those were the exact answers she provided, and thought to herself how Soul was the opposite. He liked wiggly, furry, messy dogs and the rich taste of cocoa over smooth vanilla. He would probably laugh for weeks about this too, which was why Maka was never going to tell him about it. _

_Favorite color? Red. _

_Favorite food? Italian. _

_Favorite movie? Anything that didn't have twenty minute scenes of pointless gunfire was okay. She would rather go bungee jumping than sit through a two and a half hours with some random boy, just to get a kiss on the cheek and a splitting migraine after._

_ What do you look for in a partner? Maka's eyes lingered on the word partner, because it made her think of her own and how he would scoff at what she was doing. What did she look for in a partner? Loyalty. If she could help it, she didn't want to end up with the same kind of man her father was. _

_There were more boxes she could put checkmarks in; intelligence, courage, kindness, humor. It all seemed so shallow, and for a second she wondered what she was really doing sitting here at this computer and filling out a questionnaire. She wanted someone to talk to that wasn't Soul. She wanted to be able to flirt and gush about that person with her friends like a normal girl. She was seventeen and hadn't been kissed, and it sent a stinging sensation into her chest whenever she saw fellow students hugging in the hallways or chatting during lunch with cartoon hearts floating above their heads. After all, Soul got love notes from secret admirer underclassmen all the time, so she deserved this, right? _

_Her profile picture was in no way going to be a photo of her actual face. She didn't have any, so that would have been a dead end anyway. And the shutter sound on the computer webcam would attract every person's attention in the room, so she just chose one of the default pictures; a puppy. There. Now she just had to wait for a member of the opposite sex to find her compelling enough to interact with._

* * *

_Soul was already home when she walked through the door, laying on the couch and drooling. _

_He couldn't help the drooling part, but it was an unfortunate habit that he didn't care enough to try and fix. He was in the middle of a nap, and Maka knew what was good for her, so she let him be and started dinner. _

_Soul wasn't actually sleeping. He had gotten back about twenty seconds before Maka did, and he didn't want her to think he'd been out all day so he just pretended to pass out on the couch. _

_This technique worked wonders for him. He couldn't pick up his socks or do the dishes when he was sleeping, now could he? _

_A couple minutes went by, and he sat up and stretched like he'd been out for hours. _

_"Oh, hi," he fake-yawned. "When'd you get home?"_

_ Maka looked up from her frying pan. "Ten minutes ago. Have a good nap? You look well-rested." _

_"Um. Yeah." He wasn't well-rested. His legs hurt from running from Black Star and Tsubaki's place to home, and his mind was abuzz with nervous excitement from his secret DigitalLove account. _

_"I'm making pancakes for dinner," Maka said regretfully. "Sorry I was so late getting home."_

_ "Was Liz's boyfriend situation that much of a problem?" _

_"No," she replied hesitantly. "It was just an interesting movie. I decided to stay and watch with them." _

_"What was it?" Soul retrieved a glass of water from the tap and jumped up on the counter. Maka almost laughed because he had been twelve when he started sitting up there, and five years later he still kept doing it even though now he had to sit with his elbows on his knees._

_ "Some… action thing," she said, hoping her vague answer would be enough to satisfy him. _

_"You hate action movies." He took a gulp of water. Maka stared at his Adam's apple as it moved up and down in his throat._

_ "Yeah, well, it was a good one." _

_He shrugged and put the glass in the sink. "Okay. Remind me what the name is later. If you liked it, then I definitely will."_

* * *

_The next day, Maka checked her account for any new messages. Nada. So she checked it again the next day. And then next day. And the next. Until she had been trying for a week, and her spirits were as low and dark and she felt. She hadn't even been specific with her preferences. If no one wanted to date her, then maybe she should just tell Blair to invite all of her cat friends over so she could live with fluffy kitties for the rest of her life instead of moping around in her apartment like she was doing now. _

_It was the eighth day when she found a message. Stomach flipping, she opened it. _

_Four things she was sure of. _

_1.) His name was Kit. _

_2.) His profile picture was one of the default ones too. A record player. _

_3.) He thought she sounded "very cute". _

_4.) He wanted to get to know her better. _

_Trying not to let her face split open from smiling so hard, she replied back, saying she thought he sounded very cute too and that she would love to talk to him more._

_ Soul waited with jittery impatience for Maka to leave the house each day so he could chat up the cutie he found online. When she came back looking brighter than the sun, he was sure she had been spending her days shopping or going out somewhere with Tsubaki and the rest of the girls. Same with Maka, who thought her partner was disappearing off to Black Star's to beat him at the newest sequel to the Robot Slayer video games they loved so much. _

_She couldn't believe how easy it was to talk to Kit. He was funny, charming, and honestly made butterflies flap around inside her belly. He was everything she was looking for, and she hoped she was the same thing to him. _

_They had been talking for two weeks when he said he wanted to meet her. It might have been a little soon for Maka's taste, but she agreed because he was so damn flirty and he sounded extremely trustworthy. "I'll be wearing a yellow dress," she told him. "So you know it's me." _

_She told Tsubaki about him, and about their date. Yes, she was excited. Yes, she liked him. No, she was very sure that he wasn't a fifty year old man posing as a teenager because who in the hell typed like that? No middle-aged guy she knew. Forgetting to capitalize and punctuate words wasn't something you could consistently fake. She got her friend to drop her off at the restaurant when seven o'clock on a Saturday night came around. _

_When it did, she needed a cover story as to why she was going out. Soul believed her excuse easily, that she was just going over for a sleepover. When she returned late that night she could just say she didn't feel well and came home early. _

_It was foolproof._


	2. Part Two

Mousy brown-blond hair, a floaty dress like a cloud made of butter-colored chiffon, and a nervous smile greeted the maître de.

_ I'll be wearing a yellow dress. _

_This must be her. _

When she turned around, he dropped his fork. Her eyes met his and her lip gloss-slicked mouth fell open, gaping like a goldfish.

"Soul?"

Oh, _no._

* * *

"Maka!"

"What are you doing here?" she hissed.

"I'm meeting someone! Jeez! What are you doing, sneaking around like this? Are you here to crash my date or something?"

"No, I… I'm here to meet someone too."

Soul snorted. "Okay. Who is it?"

Maka bristled. "I don't know. His name's Kit."

He spewed sparkling mineral water across the table. "What?"

"What? Do you know him?"

Soul dabbed the linen tablecloth daintily, as if that would help get out the lemon-flavored stains that were quickly forming. "Maka, do you by any chance have an alter ego? Lucy?"

Her face turned slightly green. "_You're_ Kit?"

"And you're 'single and ready to mingle'?"

"Shut up! At least I didn't claim to play electric guitar or have a Great Dane named Scooby! What the hell is all that? And like anyone's going to believe you're six foot."

"Five ten," Soul snapped. "I rounded up."

"I can't believe this. I'm gonna be sick." She took a seat, clutching the edge of the table.

"Gee, thanks."

There was a moment of silence before Maka spoke. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"Um." Soul fidgeted. "We could go on with it, I guess. The date?"

"Are you kidding me? Why?"

"Why not?"

Maka scoffed, then sat back, looking defeated. "You know what? Fine. Let's do this. Let's have a date."

* * *

Waiting for their spaghetti was like waiting for school to be over. They watched the clock, waiting for the torture to end.

Neither of them said a word, but it was an unspoken dare that whoever talked first was a total weenie.

"Nice dress," Soul said flatly.

_ Hell, if it's going to be like this the whole time, I'd better turn in my tie and call it a night._

Maka gave him an inquisitive look, not sure if she detected sarcasm. "Thanks."

"It, ah, doesn't make you look flat-chested."

She shot him a wounded look.

"Sorry. I'm not good with words."

"Like I don't know that. Just do yourself a favor and stop talking."

Soul scoffed. "Okay."

"I'm sorry," Maka mumbled. "I'm being mean. This is just really weird."

Soul ran a finger along the rim of his glass. "It's fine. This _is_ pretty weird."

"Why can't we act normal around each other? As soon as we're put in a restaurant with fancy clothes, we're not ourselves."

"Fancy? I borrowed this tie from Black Star. And there's a hole in the armpit of my shirt." Maka laughed. "You told me to wear your favorite color." Soul gestured to his button-down. "Any other color would have been fine. But of all things, you had to pick red. Just my luck."

"Not red. More like… crimson."

"Like that's any different. '_Excuse me, I'm looking for a crimson shirt. Yes, it has to be crimson. My date hates red_.'"

Maka swatted him playfully. "I'm not even going to ask why you picked Kit as a fake name."

"I just thought it sounded cool. But I'm sure there's a reason for Lucy. Pray tell."

"Lucy Pevensie."

"Sorry?"

"The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I always admired her."

"Wasn't she like, ten years old?"

"Does it matter?"

"No."

* * *

When the food came, it was easier to talk.

Maka leaned into her hand. "This is probably the most ridiculous thing we've ever done."

"We've done a lot of ridiculous things."

"Dressing up and pretending to learn things about each other that we already know? I'd say that's pretty stupid."

"Isn't this kind of re-living when we met?"

"I didn't wear heels for that."

"I did."

"Ohhhh, that's why you seemed taller."

"Yes. I shrunk."

This was completely hilarious, of course. When they met, he was a scrawny thing, barely taller than Maka. A few years of high-intensity training and back-breaking, sweat-pouring hard work later, he was sturdy and solid, just a couple inches short of being six foot, and as much as he loved flaunting it, he was all wiry muscle and lanky teenage limbs.

He had grown out of his yellow and black letterman; out of his well-loved headband that was ridden with tears and loose strings. He stuck to his leather jacket lately; hoodies and sweatpants around the house, and patterned boxers at night. Bones, bicycles, hot dogs, unicorns, neon lemons and limes, blue and red plaid, the works. Maka knew every piece of clothing in his inventory, even buying a pack of underwear for him when it went on sale. Mortified beyond belief from having his female partner purchase his undergarments, he decided to get even and slipped a couple pairs of cheeky-looking panties, complete with enough bows and polka dots to make her father spurt a nosebleed just by looking at them, into the laundry. This didn't go over well as Maka assumed the worst: Soul had had some girl over and they forgot to clean up after themselves. By the time he explained, she turned as red as Spirit's hair.

"This dress could have gotten us a year's worth of Top Ramen. Or gas for your motorcycle. Or some new gloves and books."

"Why the hell'd you buy that thing then?!"

"Can't I want to look nice for once? It's not often that I get to go out. Most parties at the academy usually end in people trying to break into the school and wake up a Kishin." They both chuckled uncomfortably at that.

"You look nice."

"Shut up."

"I mean it. It looks good on you."

"I said shut up." Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink.

Soul was telling the truth. The color of the dress was a soft yellow, like the golden light from the candle sitting on the table. Or the curtains. Or that lady's hair. A lot of things were yellow in this restaurant. Wait. What was he talking about again?

She kept touching her slender neck and shoulders, which was probably not on purpose but distracted him immensely.

Soul always laughed at Maka's skin. It was pale, and constantly troubled them both. She burned easily, which caused her physical pain and Soul mental anguish since she whined about it for days on end. He had to apply the sunscreen in the places she couldn't reach but she growled at him if his hands lingered anywhere. And the blushing. God, she was like a tomato. Maybe it was since she made an ass of herself all the time. Anywho, there was no way that he would ever find it cute. At all. Ever.

Back to Maka's skin; her pallor made every bruise and scrape stand out like a sore thumb. Their endless consumption of band aids was getting to be a problem, but they had to cover their cuts or someone would say something. The DWMA was strict about that sort of thing. It was risk for other students to get sick, and it was also pretty gross to have an open wound.

"Aren't you hungry?" Maka slurped a noodle, blinking at him with big green eyes.

His plate was fuller than hers. She was demolishing her pasta with a scary amount of enthusiasm.

"You have a little…"

"Hm?" A spot of marinara sauce dotted the side of her mouth.

"Here, I got it." He moved to wipe it off, but she dodged his hand.

"What are you doing," she squeaked.

He rolled his eyes and rubbed his thumb on her cheek. "There," he said. "All gone."

"Thanks," she said in a small voice.

"Want some bread?"

"Uh, yeah, thank you." She chewed it ferociously, and Soul hated to point it out, but she was blushing again. When she saw him staring, she made a pouty face. "I haven't eaten since breakfast."

"We didn't have breakfast. Blair set off the smoke alarm, remember?"

"I went out with Tsubaki this morning for coffee."

"Oh. Another one of your lady talks?"

"One of my what? We were talking about my date with _Kit_. I told her all about him."

"What did she say?"

"She thought he was sweet. I quote, 'I bet he's really handsome. He sounds very nice."

"Does Lucy agree?"

"Lucy thinks he's okay. She likes Soul better." They exchanged grins. "I think I know why this isn't working."

"Why?"

"We know each other too well."

"What do you mean?"

"We know everything about each other, even the not-so good stuff. If we were strangers, if we were Kit and Lucy, we would be talking up a storm right now. There's nothing to talk about now that we're just Maka and Soul."

"It was so much easier when you were just a puppy icon," Soul said. "I just had to say one word and you were falling over yourself."

"You were different," Maka argued. "You were nicer. What happened to that guy? He wouldn't be speaking to me like this."

"I got that guy from my brother," Soul said gruffly. "It wasn't hard to copy him. I just had to think 'what would Wes do in a situation like this? How would he woo the ladies?'"

"Like I said." Maka rearranged her silverware on the cloth napkin. "I like Soul better."

"Maka, I think we should enjoy the rest of our date. As friends." He lifted his glass and clinked it to hers.

* * *

"Do you think Tsubaki would ever like Star?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know."

"Does he like her? I knew it! I totally called this!"

"Uh… if he asks… you didn't hear it from me, all right?"

Maka giggled. "Okay."

The waiter came over. "Can I interest either of you in a dessert? We have a wonderful chocolate cake that's perfect for two."

"No, thank you. We'll just take the check now."

Soul paid and turned to Maka. "Wanna get out of here?"

"Oh, _Soul_. You're such a dashing young man. Take me home."

"You know what I'm going to do with you?"

"Tell me," she pleaded, clinging to his arm.

"I'm going to make you a hot fudge sundae."

"I'm going to swoon. Lead the way, Casanova."

* * *

Despite all of Maka's indignant attempts at riding back on Soul's big orange beast of a vehicle, he handed her the helmet. "Get on or you're walking, kiddo."

She tried to argue with the term "kiddo" (she was already seventeen and he was just a few months ahead, so who was he to talk? Kiddo her ass.) but he just flashed a deadly smirk and pulled her on the bike behind him. "Might wanna hold onto something."

Soul radiated heat in the cool night air, warming her chest through thin fabric. It was a little too thin, and she worried for a second if he could tell that she wasn't wearing a bra. As the saleswoman had so kindly pointed out, her chest was small enough to go commando in this dress. His back was pressed awfully close to her breasts, and he could probably feel them in all of their barely-there glory. Her once modest gown was now hiked up to her thighs, cherry-printed undies exposed to the world thanks to the wind blowing up her skirt. If they got stopped by a red light, it would only take one look for him to see those little red and green fruits, so Maka prayed that the traffic will be sparse. She tried not to notice how firm and taut Soul's stomach muscles are as she clasped her hands around him tighter.

* * *

When they stop, she took off the helmet and was about to hand it to the driver when he put his hand on her knee. It wasn't in a suggestive way, but still made her heart jump into her throat.

"Sorry…" he said when he realized what he'd done. "Sorry. I was just steadying myself. I didn't see your leg there."

"It's okay," she replied, sliding off of the seat. She would never in a million years tell him how good his fingers felt on her skin. Something fluttered in her stomach, then lower. Fuck, this stupid boy was going to give her a heart attack. And he was making her tongue swell up, too. Maybe she got stung by a bee on the way home? That was the only conclusion that makes sense. Flying insects were the reason why she couldn't form syllables.

Pressing the plastic into his hand, she ran inside, mumbling something about "having to go to the bathroom" and that he should "really hurry up".

Stumbling through the hallway, she rubbed her lips together and ran a hand through her hair absentmindedly. The lip gloss was long gone, and the fifteen to twenty minutes used to do her hair were wasted, as her windswept strands of dishwater blond were as limp and unappealing as ever.

"Maka?"

Oh, crap. He was nearly here. And where were those damn keys?! She had to make her escape. This was taking a turn for the worst. Soul was making her feel very warm, almost feverish, and she needed to clear her head. Right. Now. Before she said something stupid.

"Blair," Maka said, rattling the handle. "Let me in, please!"

"What?" called a faint voice from behind the door.

_If she's taking one of her five-hour baths, I'm going to take another one of her nine lives... _

"Maka!" She didn't mean to say it out loud, but a small hiss of "shit" could easily be heard.

"What's wrong? Are you feeling okay?"

"I'm just… really tired. You know. Dates really take all the energy out of me."

"We can lay on the couch and watch Scooby Doo." His smile wasn't as_ Great White Shark_ as usual. It was more like _Friendly Neighborhood Wolf Who Bakes Cookies For Children_.

"That sounds good."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mm?"

"Do you think we should kiss?"


	3. Part Three

"What?! Ew! I mean, not _ew_, but… why?"

"Isn't that how dates usually work? We go out to eat or whatever, and then after I drive you home and say good night, I kiss you." He sounded flustered.

"We live in the same apartment, Soul. Why would you need to say your goodbyes when we're sleeping one room away from each other?"

He groaned, because he was trying to be a good date and she was still a smartass. "Would you stop being so annoying?"

"You really think we should kiss?"

"Yeah, I mean, what have we got to lose?"

_Oh, I don't know, our entire relationship?_

After a minute of consideration where Maka's mind battled against itself fiercely (the part that wanted to know if his tongue tasted like honey, slow and sweet, if he would grab her waist and tangle his fingers in her hair, versus the logical part, which was screaming that if she did this, it would screw up everything), she swallowed. "Fine."

Soul took in a deep breath. "Should I-um. Just. Stop moving."

"Okay. Okay, we're doing this. We are doing this. You… and me… and our mouths… yep."

"Maka, you're stalling."

"Noooo, I'm not." She couldn't look him in the eye.

"If you don't want to do this, then why are you still standing here?"

That was a good question.

"Just kiss me, you idiot!" Maka yanked the front of his shirt. Soul went in for the smooch but let out a howl of pain when her head jerked upward, crashing into his nose.

"What are you doing?" she demanded, as though she had nothing wrong and her weapon wasn't cursing colorfully under his breath.

"Whad ab I doig? Whad are you doig?!" His eyes glistened with fresh tears, the irritation spewing out of his voice like lava from a volcano.

"I'm sorry, okay?! I'm sorry! This is just so awkward." Maka was flat out frustrated. She glared at the floor. "I'm sorry."

Soul exhaled for a long time through his nose. "Fuck it."

He grabbed her face and pressed his lips to hers. This would have worked if it hadn't been for his teeth, which accidentally grazed her bottom lip, and not in the sexy way. She recoiled, putting a hand to her mouth. Soul swore loudly and kicked the door, which did nothing but send a shooting pain through his big toe.

"Why can't we get this right?" he growled, hopping around and clutching his injured phalange.

Maka, who was trying to staunch her bleeding lip with her pretty, very expensive dress, gave him a solemn stare. He was startled by the melancholic look in her eyes, and was even more startled when she repeated what she had said back at the restaurant.

"We know each other too well."

Soul surveyed his partner's somber face for one breath. Two. Three. Then he spoke.

"That's not true. I don't know what your mouth tastes like." He took a step closer to her. "I don't know if you like getting hickeys or giving them." Another step. "I don't know if you'd ever consider giving a guy a chance when he has bone boxers and shark teeth." Another. "I don't know why you went on a date with me."

When Maka looked up, she saw him standing less than a hair's length away.

It wasn't until two seconds into the kiss when her brain registered what was happening.

Maka could feel the hesitence behind the pressure on her lips and felt a rush of affection for her partner. Even when their physical bodies were connected, he was still worried about her. What a dork. And _his lips_. It was so weird to feel them on her. She had seen them do everything; eat, frown, smile, laugh, grimace. She had seen it all so many times but now it was like he's a complete stranger.

Kissing her best friend was like discovering a part of something that she'd had for a long time but never noticed before, like a secret compartment in a drawer or a button on the sleeve of a coat. It was new and uncomfortable and their noses bumped a lot, but it was messy and it was wonderful.

It's funny how things worked out. They defeated a kishin, for fuck's sake, but it took more than five whole minutes to work out how to fit their mouths together.

And when they did, they had to break apart, gasping for air.

It was like time stopped for a second, because all Maka could focus on was the way Soul was panting, how his hair hung in his eyes, how one of his hands was still cradling her cheek. It was such a sweet, intimate gesture, and she thought about how many years he had spent convincing people of his cool, careless exterior and how it could all be torn apart in one second flat. She loved this side of him. He showed it much less than his grumpy one, but sometimes it shined through his ill-tempered attitude like sunlight poking through stormclouds.

Soul, on the other hand, was pleasantly surprised by how eager Maka was when she kissed him back, and how the color in her cheeks bloomed like a flower when he looked,_ really looked_ at her. Her lips were pink and swollen just a little bit, and the soft skin on her collarbone smelled like vanilla. He had no authority to complain about her sneeze-inducing perfumes and lotions now. She could bathe in the stuff and he would be fine.

"Was this a mistake?" Her voice was quiet, and she turned her face away from the warm touch of his hand.

Now that the spur-of-the-moment excitement was fading, Soul could see how wrong what they had just done was. He had kissed his meister. His meister. And she kissed him back, _oh dear Lord_, how she kissed him back, but that wasn't the point. The point was that they had just changed everything. How were they going to be able to look each other in the eye tomorrow, knowing that they had so passionately lip-locked the night before?

"I'm sorry I made you do this." Soul moved to open the door with almost robotic actions.

"Wait, Soul! That's not what I meant, I just… nothing's going to be the same anymore. We just risked everything we have together for one kiss. It was inappropriate. It was a mistake."

The shame he felt in his chest evaporated like spilled soda on a hot summer day, and anger, mixed with the teeniest, tiniest amount of hurt replaced it. "Wow, thank you for clearing that up. I thought it was fucking great, but, well, I guess not, right?"

"Why are you yelling at me?" Maka looked like she was going to cry.

"I'm not yelling at you. Forget it."

"No! You always do this! You get mad at me for no reason and then refuse to tell me why!" Nope, she wasn't going to cry. She would sooner breathe fire like a very pissed off dragon.

"I thought we had something here! And now you want to act like nothing happened? It kind of fuckin' hurts, Maka!"

She was completely taken aback. "What are you talking about? Wasn't this all just some joke to you in the first place? Cool guy gets set up with nerdy girl and plays along with the date and then laughs about it in the morning? Because God forbid anyone knows you were out with me."

Soul caught himself too late. Trying to recover from whatever gooey junk he had just spilled out, he spouted some royally lame excuse. "I went out with you because we're partners! You're my best friend! Can't we have a fun night out without you jumping to conclusions? Is this about that woman's intuition thing?"

"Then what was all that you just said about 'having something here'?"

Okay, he was totally and officially screwed. It was time to give up. If she hated him, she hated him. "If we hadn't gone out tonight, and I'm really glad we did, I wouldn't have realized it until it was too late."

"Realized what, that I'm a total loser who can't even get a computer to find me a date?"

"That I like you." His face was burning hotter than the sinking sun above them. He wanted to dunk his head in a bucket of ice water.

"Like me," she repeated blankly. "That's good. I thought you despised me all this time."

_Now is not the time to use sarcasm, Maka._ "I mean like you, like you," Soul said, pinching the inside of his arm hard enough to leave a bruise because he had just said the most juvenile thing possible.

"That isn't funny. And that's not even something you should tease me about." Her voice was deadly calm, but something lurked under the surface that sounded like she was going to cry again, this time for real.

"_What_?"

"Leave these kinds of jokes for someone else, okay? I know I'm not your type, Soul! And it doesn't feel good when you point it out."

"You know what doesn't feel good? When the girl_ you're in love with_ doesn't even believe you when you say you love her!"

"In love with?" Broken record Maka was at it again. "You… you love me?"

"I'm sorry if that doesn't make you feel good," he said spitefully, silently spitting out swear words because why _the fuck_ couldn't he find his fucking keys and he could feel the heartbreak rising in his chest already and if he started crying it will be so uncool, and-

"Why?"

_Shit._

"You're smart, and scary, and brave, and sometimes annoying, and you nag me for not picking up my dirty laundry, and you yell at me when I use up all the hot water and eat all of the toaster waffles and forget to take out the trash. We've been through so much together and like you said, we know each other way too well, so that would mean we don't need to get into any of that awkward stuff like normal people would, and you're the most amazing person I've ever met. You are the most normal person I've ever met, and that's kind of saying a lot since we hunt monsters for a living." He took in a breath, but didn't stop long enough for her to reply. "I know we pretty much just fucked up our entire partnership, but I think it's worth it if… if you feel the same way."

"You really like me?" she asked incredulously.

"Fuck, Maka." He gave a short but strained laugh. "Please don't make me say all of that again."

"I never thought that… something like this would happen. I hoped, but never actually thought…"

"W-wait, you mean you do feel the same way?" Soul was stammering now. His tendency to stumble and stutter was only brought up by stressful situations, and he reminded her of a helpless baby animal, awkwardly trying to keep their footing. Maka softened like the ice cream she'd rather be eating right now than standing outside their apartment door with Soul waiting for an answer and her mind cloudier and more twisted than it ever had been when she was infected with madness.

Her reply would make or break him, and she wasn't sure that she wanted either. Did she love him? Did she feel the same way? How did it even come to this? She had never expected herself to be in this situation, with his wavelength bouncing around like a small bird injected with caffeine and her struggling to come up with something that was honest and real but wouldn't hurt him, because she would never hurt him if she could help it, and there was something reflecting in his eyes that already seemed to shine with pain.

She couldn't make a list of pros and cons, she couldn't think of a plan, she couldn't think of anything at all. The only thing she could envision was her weapon's mouth on hers and his rough, scarred, and calloused palm on her goosebump-covered skin and the evening air whooshing past her face and the smell of him, a warm kind of scent that she couldn't describe as anything but safe, and then it all became crystal clear about how she felt about Soul and the feeling got so big it threatened to swallow her up in a whirlwind of raw, repressed emotion.

"I love you." Each word was enunciated, and the whole sentence was said slowly, like she didn't know what was coming out of her own mouth.

They gazed at each other shyly for a while.

"Maka, I…" Soul cleared his throat. "I kind of want to kiss you a lot more."

"I'd like that."

Soul stole one kiss while he pressed her against the door, and it was sweet and sticky like Maka pictured it in her head. Honey and molasses and maple syrup all wrapped in one, slow and intoxicating. She felt lightheaded when Blair finally opened the door, and of course it was when Soul's tongue was in her mouth.

She meowed an apology, but you could see from the twinkle in her pumpkin-colored eyes that she wasn't sorry one bit. She probably knew what was going to happen, that sneaky kitty.

But Maka couldn't care less, because what happened after their housecat/friend/weird lady who mooches off of them goes to sleep was nothing less than everything she dreamed about. It was on Soul's bed. Soul left teeth marks on her shoulders and she sighed his name into his mouth.

That dress was going to be the death of him. In any other situation, he would have laughed at the color and shape, (pale yellow like pineapple juice, and it looked like Maka had swiped it from a toddler's closet) but now as she laid in it on his bed, (_his bed!_) it did a wonderful job of showing off those strong, mile-long legs and her breasts, which were in fact still undeniably small, but soft and gorgeous just like the rest of her. He swore to himself that he would never again make fun of them.

There wasn't as much groping as Maka had prepared herself for, but he did plant a few kisses on her bare legs, and she practically yelped because of the sudden blood rush to her head. Her breathing got ragged once he made his way up her inner thighs, and he was as silent and attentive as ever, watching her every movement. He had such an appreciation for her legs, and he intended to show it as he massaged her flesh, humming his delight and pressing kiss after kiss into her flushed skin. She returned the favor by laying on top of him and squirming around. When he popped a boner, she just moved some more, making him exhale sharply. If she started grinding against his dick, he was done for. Thankfully (but also sadly), she didn't. He was a little scared of how far she wanted to go, seeing as she was pure as snow and could very well be a nun, that is, if Soul's hand wasn't working its way up her dress. When he touched her, it sparked a reflex somewhere, and she jerked up which just made her rub against his hand more, and squealed. He had to put a hand over her mouth so she didn't wake up the cat. But he wanted to hear her moan, and his penis did too. She complied while Soul rubbed her through her panties. If it were up to him, he would just boot Blair out, say "tough luck", and have his way with her right there and then. But he couldn't do that.

He told her that they should finish up later, not wanting to risk the possibility of a certain purple-haired seductress hearing them, but she shook her head so violently it almost scared him. Then he saw the look in her eyes and had to help her out. And then she mouthed the word "please" and he lost it. He tugged off her clothes and underwear and looked to her for the go sign.

She looked unsure of herself, as though realizing just how sudden this all was. An hour ago, they were talking about The Chronicles Of Narnia, and now he was about to go down on her. An hour ago, they were partners and nothing else. Now, with all of their feelings laid down on the table, they were just a couple of teenagers in heat, and it made Maka feel nauseated, because how could she have let this happen? She was no better than her papa, always letting people down. She was supposed to be the strong one, the one who Soul could trust and depend on to make the right choices, to do what was best for them both. Now she was acting like one of the sluts from the cabaret, opening their legs instead of their mouths, and for what? Just so she could live out one of her girlish fantasies? Just so she could see the boy whom she loves kiss her like she's his only air supply?

She did love Soul. Unconditionally. And forever. It was fierce and sometimes seemed so strong it would consume her, but such is the life of a meister. A close-bonded relationship was something all meister/weapon pairs had to pursue, but not necessarily the romantic kind, although it did seem to develop in a lot of cases. Black Star and Tsubaki were connected in ways Maka couldn't even try to comprehend, Kim and Jacqueline were giving off the awkward _"oh no, I just realized how attractive my weapon/meister is_" vibe (the number one sign of love beginning to blossom in a partnership), and Maka's own mother and father were happy together for years until their marriage started to crumble.

Maka _definitely_ loved Soul. First as a friend. Then, as a brother as the teasing and hair-pulling got worse. He was like Black Star; a goofy, lovable guy who was gross more times than not and ate too much and made fart jokes and pinched her when he passed by just to see her snap. When she gradually grew a crush on him, she thought she was going crazy, because Soul? The laziest, most annoying, most sarcastic, most frustrating person in all of Nevada? The one who made her believe in men again? The one who valued her life over his so many times, who had a scar to prove it? The same boy who was the only person ever to make her feel like she was good enough, the same boy who put her before anyone else?

He was good, he was beyond good, and she didn't deserve him. He needed to go out with someone who was attractive and interesting and would be willing to hop into bed without any hesitation. She was flat as a board, about as interesting as a brick, and couldn't even kiss without getting embarrassed.

But if he loved her like he said he did, was that why he wasn't running away? He stayed with her all this time, through thick and thin, even though she screamed at him and hit his head with books. He must really love her to put up with all of her crap.

And suddenly she wanted to cry because she loved him so much. He was right when he said that tonight was the night they fully realized their feelings towards each other. Seeing him smile and laugh with his head thrown back. His awkward honesty, in times where it wasn't needed. His dangerous smile that made her legs feel like jelly. He was handsome whether he knew it or not, and secretly he was just as self-conscious and worried as she was about self-image, which just made her infatuation all the worse. Whenever Soul lost his cool and accidentally let some real feelings out, she wanted to kiss him. Actually, she'd always wanted to kiss him. When he would come home smelling like sweat and dirt and grime and then exit the steamy bathroom with still-damp hair, in class when he balanced pencils on his nose, cleaning each other's cuts and scrapes after a particularly nasty battle at three in the morning, when they stayed up together watching shitty low-budget horror movies and he would move his shoulder absently, knowing that she would rest her head on it.

She wondered if she knew all along that this would happen. He was her slab of stone that kept her grounded. He was her friend, the one she went to for advice. He was her everything. They relied on each other so much, it was like they were two halves of the same person. She hated to think of what would happen next, if this didn't work out.

"Are you okay? Do you want to stop?" Soul was holding her hand now, squeezing it a little.

"I don't want to lose you," were the words that came out of her mouth. When he creased his forehead in puzzlement, she sat up and buried her head in her lap.

"Maka. Maka, hey," his voice was soft as Egyptian cotton sheets, dandelion fuzz, fireplace soot.

"I'm not what you want," she said. "I can't do this."

"You don't want this?"

She had to look up, and a long stream of_ fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck_ entered her mind when Soul saw the crystalline tears in her eyes. "I do. I want this. But I didn't think this through."

"You need to think less," he said.

"I just don't know why you like me."

"How many times you gonna ask me that? I'm not making another speech." He ruffled her hair affectionately, and she smiled. "I love you, Maka. You are exactly what I want. And if you aren't ready to do this, we can wait. A week, or a year, or however long you need."

But she did want to. She had waited since she was fourteen years old and terrified of her own anatomy for this moment. Figuring out how her body responded to her hands was a task on its own, but trying to find what made her mewl like a kitten was harder. Until she realized it was right in front of her; a demonic-looking scythe boy with eyes like blood and teeth ready to tear apart throats. She knew it wasn't just a kink that she liked his looks, because his horrible personality turned her on just as much as his nimble pianist fingers did. That's when she knew she was in some deep shit.

Honestly she had only touched herself when she needed some serious stress relief, but still, every time her mind filled itself with raspy moans that sounded distantly Soul-esque and clouded thoughts about how fucking amazing it would feel to have those teeth digging into her.

She kissed him hot and heavy, screaming with every ounce of her being that she wanted him to touch her. And he did, first with gentle hands that coaxed relieved sighs from her shell-pink lips, and then with his mouth.

HOLY SHIT. _HOLY SHIT_. His mouth was hot and wet and he knew _exactly_ where and how to touch her and it was just like one of her fantasies but_ so much better_.

He paused to ask "does that feel good?" and she was almost infuriated by his question because it was such a dumb thing to say. Of course it felt good, it felt like absolute heaven. She knew he was just trying to make sure she was okay, trying to make sure that he was doing a good job. He was doing more than a good job, and so she could only nod vigorously in reply.

She squeezed her legs together, forgetting about her partner's head. He was okay, though. More than okay. He would be willing to suffocate as long as he could worship his technician's body like this. He tried not to think of how long he'd been waiting to eat her out. The sounds that she was making were just breathy gasps but they turned into distressed cries when he found just the right spot, and he couldn't, he just _couldn't_.

Soul was serious about not waking up Blair, so when he heard Maka whining like that, he shoved his fingers into her mouth, which she then bit down on to stop herself from moaning. _Incredibly hot_. He knew what he was getting off to next. The pain was bearable, and it became almost good when he started to feel her tremble.

Maka was so overcome with pleasure she couldn't breathe. When she felt a familiar hotness pooling in her stomach, she took out his aching, probably bruised fingers so she could moan his name for all the world to hear. She didn't give a fuck if the cat heard, she wanted her weapon to know what he did to her.

Her vision flickered white when she came. He kept going, showing no mercy, prompting her to shudder and keen and come again.

The image of Maka sprawled on his bed was going to be in his thoughts for probably the next month, and every detail about it as well. The dazed look in her eyes, the way she was breathing heavily through her mouth, the curve of her back and how the crazed moon outside the window was chuckling and casting a soft golden light that spilled onto the sheets, the rosy glow that seemed to radiate from her body.

"Was that okay?" he asked when she came down from her high.

She wanted to say something along the lines of "much better than what my fingers could have done" but settled for "it was amazing".

Soul wanted to kiss her really badly again.

She giggled when he did, because they were both smiling through it. He threw her a t-shirt and a pair of boxers (the hot dog patterned ones) and Maka put them on, thanking him silently. He knew what she needed without her speaking a word, and that said something. Then he went out to get her a hot fudge sundae.

Turns out Blair was sitting at the table the whole time, idly flipping through a magazine and sipping a glass of milk. She was wearing a silk robe and looked like she'd been up the whole night, which made Soul immediately suspicious.

"I couldn't sleep," she said innocently. She finished her milk and stretched, yawning and showing off her little fangs. "You should invest in some soundproof walls." Her purr of a laugh followed her all the way to bed. "Good night! Don't let the girlfriend bite!"

Soul turned bright red and pressed the ice cream carton to his cheek, hoping the temperature would cool down his embarrassment. No such luck, though.

When he returned to his bedroom, Maka was laying down and making what looked like what was supposed to be a seductive pose. With a too-big ratty shirt and skinny legs, she looked more _Mattress Seller_ than _Naughty Sex Kitten_. But it was an endearing combo, his clothes on her body.

They ate their ice cream. And because they were seventeen and it was their first night loving each other, they decided not to go all the way. Maka was more than a little nervous anyway, and Soul didn't have condoms. Even a cool guy like him forgot to be prepared sometimes.

But that didn't stop Maka from pulling down Soul's pants. Hissing through his teeth, he dug his fingers into his palms as she gazed up at him, suddenly looking very Sex Kitten. "It's your turn," she said simply. And even though it was her first time around an actual penis, she did wonderful. At least to Soul, because as much as he liked pleasing just her, he wasn't exactly thrilled to be stuck using his hand that night. And there was no way he wasn't going to jerk it, because this night was way too eventful and way too hot for him to handle. Thankfully his meister was there to help him blow off a little steam, and when they finished up and he could see straight again, they fell asleep together on his bed.

Blair was probably seriously relieved that she could finally get some shuteye, because when she thought they'd stopped, Soul let out some choked noises that sounded about as manly as a chicken squawking. They both went quiet after he yelled her name, though.

* * *

When Tsubaki asked how her date went, Maka replied that it didn't. She got stood up, and she never actually met Kit. Soul said the same to Black Star, although he changed the part about being stood up to just not being interested in Lucy. If Star thought a girl ditched him, he would never hear the end of it. A severe blow to his tough badboy status was something he did not want to sacrifice.

* * *

Maka and Soul promised that they would keep their relationship a secret, that is for now. They would either spill the beans eventually, or the gang would just straight up ask them. They all thought they were already together, anyway, so it wasn't like anything had changed. Except for the fact that they gave each other head and declared their love for one another not even a full twenty four hours ago.

But who was keeping track?


End file.
